Raven's Wing
by Artymysse
Summary: A young girl was taken from her parents and forced to be an experiment that is trained to kill until Dumbledore intervenes. Follow her last two years at Hogwarts as she tries to balance school with the world she grew up in, especially now that people are starting to notice she is around. Her training will lead her to a fight to protect those that she cares about most.
1. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"RAVEN!" a voice screams in the darkness.

"Please! Anything but this, anything but my child," the same voice begs.

"You knew the consequences and took the risk. You couldn't deliver, so therefore she belongs to us now. If you didn't want it to come to this you should not have failed," a deep voice breaks through the sound of crying.

"Please," the first voice weakly begged.

"Weakness is not acceptable," the deep voice stated robotically before the sound of a sword pulled from a sheath was heard and then a bloodcurdling scream.

I jolted up from my nightmare breathing heavily. I rapidly worked on slowing my breath and heartbeat before I was heard and punished. I was supposed to be quiet; I was supposed to be undetected, light on my feet, and stealthy, but never noticed, especially during the night. Nightmares were a sign of weakness that I could never afford to show. I knew what happened to those that failed the tests, I have seen it firsthand and been forced to distribute some of the punishments myself.

It was a recurring dream I had been having for as long as I could remember. It has been haunting me for years with no explanation, but always ends up in me waking up in a cold sweat with a weight on my chest. I threw off my blankets from the thin mattress on the ground and treaded softly around those silently sleeping around me. Nights were the most unnerving. Nothing moved and even crickets outside didn't dare make a sound. Complete silence was the hardest thing to adjust to since I have been here, but this training ground is all I have known.

Repetitious training and experiments since I was a year old, continuous healer visits to monitor my progress through the experiment I was assigned to be part of, and nonstop tests and training during the day is what every day has consisted of. No birthdays, no holidays, no gifts, no friends. Friends. That is something I used to wish could be a reality. It didn't take long for me to realize that befriending anyone here was a bad idea. I am the only one from my age group that made it this far, so there hasn't really been anyone that I could get attached to anyway. Weakness, in any way, was unacceptable, including caring about anything other than the mission in front of me. Weakness was severely punished, generally by death that was a public affair performed in front of the rest of the "students" in their class, if they could even be called that. We were experiments, we weren't human, but we weren't quite anything else.

I am a trained assassin and that is what I will always be. That is all I know and I am not free to roam the world outside these walls for another 5 years without direct supervision and a specific mission to complete. Perfection and follow through or death, which is something that isn't easy to come to terms with as a 10 year old, but I am in a world that has caused me to grow up very quickly.

I have never really known happiness and comfort, only pain and the feeling of being pushed to her limit in isolation from everyone. The only person I know the name of is my trainer, healer, and educator, Sal. He was assigned "master" before he reached the age of 15 where we are sent out on missions and was immediately recruited to monitor my progress. I am told I am too dangerous to be around other people until they test my control, but that has yet to stop them from still sending me on missions to kill for them.

I was on a mission, just a few days before I turned 11, with Sal's voice in my ear giving me current information on my next target. I had the blueprints in my mind and was searching for the best location to place myself for the cleanest shot. It was a large gala in an old museum that was full of uptight and stuck up people that think they are better than the rest of the world. My target hadn't paid my client in enough time, so I was hired out by the company to complete the payment in kind. They usually don't let someone my age out of the walls, but I am small, agile, and more competent than any of the other experiments above me.

I found the perfect set up, a dark unlit marble balcony that only had two security guards patrolling. They were now knocked out and tied up and resting underneath one of the paintings that probably was a fake or not worth nearly the amount of fuss that is made over it. We are often encouraged to kill anyone in our way, but the idea of killing has never sat well with me. I can separate myself for a job when needed, but the two guards are innocent and have no business being involved in this. I look young enough that the "I can't find my parents" line and a few tears work almost every time. I pull out my rifle and set it up on the stand with a silencer attached to prevent excessive noise. I have the case set up and have rehearsed the take down of the gun so many times it's second nature and very quick.

The target is a fat man that has a woman on his arm that is much too young for him. He gets up to give his speech, and she hangs onto his arm with a dumb, empty smile until she almost falls over from trying to physically get her claws in him. She is the typical dumb type that is only in the relationship for the money, that isn't even his. A thought of whether she will actually grieve for him, but it doesn't last long before it is gone. Focus, breathe in, focus, breathe out, pull the trigger.

As my finger tightens on the trigger a soft voice mutters behind me, "Do you really want to be doing that, Raven?"

I didn't sense anyone's presence. That has never happened to me. I control myself enough to not jump. Always have the upper hand, and if you don't, fake it until you make it. I have three minutes left of the target's speech to take the shot.

The man that spoke looks like he is over 100 years old and still extremely spry. He is thin with a beard down to his hips and a knowing twinkle in his eye to match the smirk on his face. I don't say anything; I just make unwavering eye contact with this mystery man in front of me that somehow knows my name.

"How rude of me, my name is Albus Dumbledore, and I have a proposition for you," he says. "I am the headmaster at a school called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I know I just sound like a senile old man, but we welcome many different types of wonderful students with magical abilities and I know you would fit right in, even with your differences and unconventional upbringing. Your parents actually attended the school themselves, and I know they wished you to also attend in their footsteps."

That got my attention. Not only did this man know my name, he claimed to know who my parents were. This had to be a test from Sal. I don't have parents. I was taken and then they were most likely killed. That's how all of the children got to the compound.

"What kind of trick is this Sal? Throwing me a test in the middle of a mission, I'm kind of busy right now," I mutter through my mouthpiece.

"What trick? Just make the shot before it's too late and come back. It is a simple mission that has been entrusted to you" Sal's quick and monotonous voice replies.

"Oh he won't know about me, they don't approve of me talking to you and taking you away, but you are old enough to make your own decision and choose your own path." He held out a hand to me.

"What is happening?" I ask him.

"I am here to take you away and show you how much potential your future can have."

I took a step back from him. I hear applause from below. The speech is finished and my target is now surrounded by a large mass of people.

"Raven, you have failed your mission. Please return to await your punishment for your actions," I hear Sal say in my ear as I start to think about the unspeakable violence I will know because of this man.

I glare at him, and suddenly I hear my nightmare in my ears. The pleading, the uncaring deep voice saying failure is unacceptable, the bloodcurdling scream and suddenly going with this crazy old man offering me a different future doesn't seem like a terrible possibility anymore.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

It is an odd feeling to think about how that was only a little over 5 years ago. I am walking into Hogwarts to have my yearly meeting with Dumbledore and McGonagall about my class schedule before the other students have finished boarding the Hogwarts Express at London King's Cross Station.

That fateful day that "punishment" awaited me, Dumbledore managed to convince the master in charge of everyone to allow me to leave for school by telling him how much more powerful I would be. Somehow he saw that me controlling magic as well as my other special skills would make me an even better example of what the strong can do. Master agreed with the caveat I could come back to work over the summers until I turned 16, which was this past summer. I have the option to return to continue completing missions over the summers if I so chose.

Now I am free from my past, physically at the very least, but there is still something holding me back. All I have experienced is hard training and uncaring people at the compound, but here it is a completely different world that I still haven't transitioned into as well as Dumbledore would hope. I find the students in this school to be full of idiotic and unintelligent small talk that does not interest me in the slightest. The few years of puberty was the worst, it was constantly boys and flirting and how everyone looked.

I have a very plain appearance with the exception of my long sleek black hair and my animalistic sapphire eyes. My eyes have a tendency to be off-putting to others and I have no problem remaining alone and avoiding conversations with unimportant people.

As I head up the stairs to Dumbledore's office for the meeting, I look around the dark and empty castle around me. It really is a beautiful place with so many hidden wonders and passageways. Even just looking up, there are at least 6 good places to perch for an assassination.

I get the ability to train as well as take classes throughout the week. Dumbledore and McGonagall have scheduled time out of my timetable to allow me to continue to train from afar with Sal, but last year was my last year of training so I am eager to see what Dumbledore has in store for me now.

"Cauldron Cakes," I say and the eagle staircase begins it's slow ascent to the upper level office. I open the door to a small party of sorts. McGonagall and Dumbledore are there, but there is also a large man with an eye mechanism keeping a spinning eye in place, and young and energetic man that looks perpetually eager about something; an optimistic of sorts. There is also a stern looking woman that has her hair pulled tightly into a bun. It's so tight that it looks like her hair is pulling the skin of her face back as well. Dumbledore clapped his hands and his eyes lit up as he turned toward the door.

"Ms. Blake! I am so glad you could make it."

"I have yet to miss any meetings thus far," I replied.

"Punctuality is an important quality young lady," the fake-eyed gruff man stated.

"I would like to introduce you to some important people. This is Mad-Eye Moody and next to him is Matt Andrews," he gestured to the gruff and eager men respectively. "They will be faces you will become familiar with throughout the semester. The lovely woman next to them is Ms. Reznikov."

I acknowledged them with a nod, and shook the hands of Matt, who bounded over to greet me. He quickly stepped back next to Moody, which I found to be a very apt name for the man.

"Your schedule will be changing a bit this upcoming year as Sal will no longer be instructing you. Instead I thought you would like to continue your training in a different direction. Moody and Andrews are two of the world's top Aurors. You will be conducting training with them on Fridays and your training with Ms. Reznikov will be conducted on Wednesdays. I am leaving their curriculum for the training up to them, but would love your input in some aspects of the syllabus as well. I know that ballet and language is important to you, so that is what your main focus will be on Wednesday mornings. From there it is up to Ms. Reznikov what she deems best, while Mr. Andrews and Mr. Moody will be taking you through the Auror training that several students only dream of receiving upon graduation. You are very lucky in this instance Ms. Blake."

"So what happens when I graduate and have completed their training? I become a weapon to the government right?"

"Of course not Ms. Blake. What you decide to pursue with your future is up to you, but I know the Aurors would be lucky to have you as a member of the _team_." There was strong emphasis on the last word out of Dumbledore's mouth.

We will certainly see about that I guess. I highly doubt I would be allowed such control over my life, but hey, what can you expect after having no control over anything up to this point?

Reznikov circles me with a stern expression on her face and I watch her with suspicious eyes. Moody is eying me up and down in an analytical way and his mechanical eye is making small zooming noises that would normally be imperceptible. They eventually begin talking again and I take that as my cue to leave as I slip out the door.

The banquet isn't for another hour so I head to the Gryffindor Common Room to unpack the few things in my luggage and get my schoolbag ready for classes. The less time I have to spend in that room with 4 other screaming girls all talking about how meaningless their summer holidays were, the better. I have other things I want to do today that do not include listening to fake conversations where everyone pretends to listen to everyone else's boring summers with rapt attention. Dumbledore was too interested in trying to help me adjust to a regular teenager's life to allow me my own room like I had asked. That man is beyond frustrating, but I know that I also drive him insane sometimes. It's just payback.

Everything zooms around the room and into its proper place. I change from my typical blacks to the required uniforms for the banquet. Once everything is in place and security spells have been placed on everything that has some form of value I begin the trek down to the Great Hall.

I choose a seat at the very end in the back corner to be as unnoticed and as ignored as possible. That only worked in theory as a group of very loud boys sit a seat or so down from me. "The Marauders" they have deemed themselves this past year and apparently the name stuck. So much for any sort of peace and quiet during the banquet.

It doesn't take long for McGonagall to throw open the doors and lead this year's new set of terrified victims down the center aisle between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw's tables. I can't hear the Sorting Hat's yearly poem being shouted out due to the whispering and laughter coming from the group next to me. On the other side of them a red head pops around and gives them death glares while threatening them with their lives if they don't shut it. There is another bout of laughter and they finally sit there in relative silence. I zone out during the sorting and scan the room instead.

"FOOD!" the mousy boy in the group shouts as the food appears.

"Wormtail you need to make sure you chew your food and not just inhale it," the quiet and tired one says.

"Good luck ever getting him to slow down. Wormtail wouldn't know how to control himself around food even if he wanted to," the one with glasses states.

"Quit being so harsh on him, he is your friend!" The red head scolds.

"Lily, will you-" Glasses starts.

"NO!" he is quickly interrupted.

I am already done with conversations around me so I grab enough food to be satisfactory and sneak out of the Great Hall without anyone paying attention. Once I am back in the dorm I change out of my robes and back into my athletic blacks. I am just wrapping my feet when I hear the voices of Lily, Alice, Grace, and Amber coming to the dorm to catch up and unpack.

My shoes were sitting on the trunk at the end of my bed, so I grabbed them, a loose sweater that I tied around my waist, and my wand before opening the door right as they reached it.

"Raven! How are you? How was your summer?" Lily asked me. She always tries to be friendly to me, as does Grace, and I appreciate it. The other two don't pay me much mind, which is perfectly fine with me, so I don't have to deal with their incessant gossip.

"It was the same as it usually is. Nothing interesting to report," and with that I slip past them and down the stairs. I enjoy the emptiness of the hallways on the first day as everyone is in their dorms catching up and unpacking all of their things for the semester. There is no one to bother me or worry about avoiding.

I am walking down the empty halls to the Room of Requirement when I hear footsteps. I slide back into the doorway of a classroom to avoid interactions with other people. There goes the illusion of first night empty hallways. I spoke too soon.

Two more sets of footsteps start coming from the other direction. I see a flash of red hair from afar. Lily Evans, perfect human being that everyone is obsessed with. Her weaknesses: her determination to be right no matter what, her tendency to try to prove everyone else wrong no matter what, she can also have an attitude that tells everyone else she is better than them. Lily isn't a person that has had to go through any significant hardships in her life other than the typical family disagreements from my understanding. She is very easy to read. She's stubborn though and stands her ground so I have respect for her, even if she is extremely popular among the student body.

The other set of footsteps belong to a heavy set Slytherin that doesn't look like he has showered in a month, Snape, and one of the toadies he has recruited for his dirty work. There is no way that this situation will end well. Everyone knows about the falling out that happened between the two, and now Snape does everything in his power to make her life hell since she wouldn't forgive him. He is a bit over dramatic if you ask me, then again, human nature is over dramatic.


End file.
